Draw-bar lift



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. SCHULTZ. DRAW BAR LIFT (No Model.)

Patented Nov. 1'7, 18.96.

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J. SCHULTZ.

DRAW BAR LIFT.

No. 571,540. Patented Nov. 17, 1896.

NITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

JOACI-IIM SCHULTZ, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

DRAW-BAR LIFT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 571,540, dated November 17, 1896. Application filed February 6, 1896. erial No. 578,183. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OACHIM SCHULTZ, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Draw-Bar Lifts; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to means for assisting in the repair of railway-cars, and more particularly to a portable apparatus for receiving and raising the draw-bars of a car, which are very heavy and by reason of their length and conformation are extremely awkward to handle in the space within which they must be handled, to wit, beneath the car.

At present when it is desired to repair a railway-car, either a freight-car or a passengercoach, it very frequently happens that the draw-bar must be taken down. To do this it is necessary to place several sets of jackscrews beneath the draw-bar, then remove the supporting pieces by which the draw-bar is held in position under the car, and'then lower the jack-screws with the draw-bar on it. Frequently either by carelessness or otherwise the draw-bar slips from off the jack-screws and causes injury either to the tools or implements about or to the workmen. When it is necessary to replace the draw-bar, the jack-screws are again called into use and it is necessary to raise this heavy piece of metal onto the jack-screws before the latter can be turned so as to receive the draw-bar into the proper position. Moreover, after being lowered from the ground by the jackscrews, the draw-bar must be removed from beneath the car pending the making of repairs and must be carried back to this position before being again placed on the liftingjacks, all of which necessitates considerable handling and is a slow and tedious operation. To remove this practical diificulty in the handlingof draw-bars, I have devised a movable platform or truck carrying a lever. lVhen it is desired to remove a draw-bar from a car, I run my truck underneath the car, raise the lever to beneath the draw-bar, lock ation is reversed when I desire to replace the draw-bar underneath the car.

Generally speaking, my invention, then,

rier-lever is made at its operating end sufi'iciently wide to properly sustain the draw-bar, and is provided, preferably, with flanges and guide-plates, while the other end of the said lever is relatively long and is used as .a handle by which the short arm maybe raised or lowered. Pivotally secured beneath the lever is a curved arm or ratchet-pawl engaging a detent in the vertical support, whereby the height of the carrier-arm may be determined as desired. These and other features of my invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

Figure 1 represents in a side View a device embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View, enlarged, taken upon the line 3 3 of Fig. 1, the point of view being in the direction indicated by the arrows. Fig. at is a vertical sectional view, enlarged, of a portion of the device taken upon the line l 4 of Fig. 1, the point of view being in the direction indicated by the arrows. Fig. 5 is a View similar toFig. 1, showing the ratchet-bar detent arranged difierently.

A represents the platform, suitably mounted upon wheels A A, the forward wheels being preferably secured to a pivotally-arranged axle a, to which is attached a handle a, whereby the direction of movement. of the platform may be governed as desired. Short the latter may be more conveniently adjusted to exact position.

Mounted vertically upon the platform A are twosupporting-timbers B B, suitably braced from lateral movement by strap-irons I) Z), bolted at b b to the support and to the platform. The said vertical supports or timbers are braced against a forward movement or strain by the supporting metal straps 19 b suitably secured at b b to the platform and to the forward margins of the said supports B, as shown clearly in Fig. 1. Spreader-blocks b b are placed, respectively, between the upper and the lower ends of said supports B, and a top plate I), secured by bolts b serves to bind the upper ends of the uprights B together. Between the spreader blocks 73 b and the interior faces of the uprights B are metal lining-plates B, suitably apertured at If, the apertures registering with corresponding openings b extending laterally through the uprights B. The pivot-bolt C is adapted to be passed through the apertures b b and is adjustably secured in position by means of a nut c. It is upon this pivot-bolt O that the carrier-lever D is mounted. This lever D comprises a handle portion (1, which is relatively long as compared with the short arm (1, upon which the draw-bar is to rest. The carrier-lever D is of a width adapted to fit between the lining-plates B, and is of sufficient dimension in the other direction to impart the necessary strength. Beneath the center portion of this lever D is a bearingplate (1 and also a corrugated plate d both plates being secured together and to the lever D by means of bolts 61 and nuts 01 The 'corrugations in the plate 01 are such as to provide a plurality of openings sufficiently large to encompass the pivotal bolt 0. It will be obvious that upon removing the nut c and the pivotal bolt 0 and moving the lever D to the right or left before replacing said pivotal bolt or nut the operator may shorten or lengthen, as desired, the short arm (1 of the lever D.

Beneath the forward end of the arm d of the lever D, I secure a lug e, to which I pivotally secure by means of a bolt 2 and nut e the upper end of the segmental ratchet-bar E. This bar E is relatively narrow and wide and adapted to conveniently enter a suitable aperture 6 longitudinally arranged through the spreader-block 11 The lower margin or rather the convex surface of the arm E is provided with ratchet-teeth 6 adapted to engage a suitable detent F. This detent consists of a plate secured to the front and lower surface of the uprights B and the spreader-block b and is provided with a suit-able aperture f, corresponding with the opening 6 in the spreader-block b, the lower margin of said aperture f constituting the detent proper or point of contact of the ratchet teeth c with said plate F. A chain f may be suitably secured to the rear end of the ratchet-arm E,

whereby the latter may be lifted to release it from the detents.

The upper margin of the short arm d of the lever D is provided, preferably, with three guide-plates,which assist in holding the drawbar in position upon the end of the said lever. These plates are as follows: The end of the plate G is suitablybent and secured by screws g to the lever. The forward margin of said plate G is upturned to form a flange g. The center plate G is upturned at both sides to form flanges 9 as shown, and these two plates G and G are about the same width as the width of the lever. The plate G is longer than the width of the lever, as shown clearly in Fig. 2, it projecting out on either side of said lever, and its margins being upturned at g to form flanges are bent at an angle, as shown in Fig. 2, for the purpose of more readily engaging the different-sized heads of the draw-bars. Of course the proportions of these plates G, G, a11dG as well as the other parts of the apparatus, will be varied as desired. In some instances I may dispense entirely with the truck-wheels A, moving the apparatus about by hand, but I much prefer the portable arrangement illustrated.

WVhen it is desired to take a draw-bar from beneath a car, the latter is jacked up, as above described, and my truck is moved toward the car until the short arm d of the lever D is entirely beneath the draw-bar, with the inner end of the latter resting upon the guideplate G and against the flange g, and with the side flanges g of the middle plate Gupon either side of the draw=bar, and with the head of the latter resting between the inclined guide-flanges 1 This position is readily determined by shifting the lever backward and forward, as indicated, by changing the posisition of the pivotal bolt 0 with respect to the corrugated retaining-plate (1 A slight tension is put upon the lever D by pressing downwardly upon the handle d, and the lever is then locked in position by some one of the teeth of the ratchet-arm E engaging the detent F. The fastenings to the draw-bar may then be loosened and the draw-bar removed by simply backing the truck out from its position under the car, the lever remaining of course locked in position with the draw-bar upon it. The necessary repairs having been made the truck is pushed back underneath the car until the drawbar is in proper position, and when the latter is secured to the car the lever D will be lowered and the apparatus taken away.

If it is desired to remove the draw-bar from the truck, the ratchet-bar E is lifted from engagement with the detent and the end of the lever carrying the bar lowered until it rests in contact with the platform, the end of the lever being to this end beveled off, as shown so as to permit the latter to rest firmly upon the platform. The end guide g will obviously prevent the draw bar from slipping from the lever While it is beinglowered. After it has been lowered it will be easy to tilt it over in any desired direction and lower it or allow it to fall the remainder of the distance to'the ground. The placing of a bar upon the truck will be substantially thereverse of the above and may obviously be accomplished with very little exertion.

It will thus be seen that the whole operation for handling the draw-bar may be performed by a single individual, by the use of my apparatus, without the exercise of an undue amount of strength on his part and without the slightest danger to himself. lhe device is neat, portable, has few parts to get out of order, and is easily repaired.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a modification in which the detent F, which engages and holds the ratchetbar, has the form of a plate or base portion f, which is secured upon the platform at a point some distance in rear of the standard and is provided with an upturned portion or flange f, which forms the detent proper. The bar D is also shown as adjusted differently in said Fig. 5.

I claim as my invention-- 1. An apparatus for handling draw-bars comprising a wheeled main frame, an upright standard mounted upon the main frame, a lever adjustably and pivotally mounted between its ends upon said standard so as to oscillate in a vertical plane, and means for holding a draw-bar longitudinally upon one end of the lever, said means comprising lateral supports upon the lever arranged to project above the supporting-surface of the latter at each side thereof.

2. An apparatus for handling draw-bars comprising a wheeled main frame, an upright standard consisting of two members held parallel with each other and at a distance apart by means of space-blocks, mounted upon said main frame, a lever arranged to extend be tween said standard members and provided with a longitudinal series of pivot-apertures, there being a vertical series of pivot-apertures provided through the standard members, a pivot-pin for adj ustably connecting said lever with the standards, means for locking the lever at a desired angle with relation to the standards, comprising a segmental shaped ratchet-bar connected with one end of the lever and arranged to extend between the standard members, a detent-plate mounted upon the standard, with which said ratchet-bar is adapted to engage, and means for holding a draw-bar longitudinally upon one end of the lever, comprising lateral and end bar-supports upon the lever arranged to project above the supporting-surface of the latter.

In testimony that I claimthe foregoing as my invention I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses, this 17th day of January, A. D. 1896.

JOAOHIM SCHULTZ.

Witnesses:

TAYLOR E. BROWN, WILLIAM S. I-IALL. 

